Update and Galaxy Travel N-Duro one

Well over the last six months I have been trying to work out and problem with my left leg. My problem is: I have been experiencing a sore left leg under high intensity so in a race situation. I have had no trouble just out riding it was only when I hit the top 15% of my max.

After seeing many doctors and scans, ultra sounds and discussion with the Waiariki Academy of sport staff. I decided to try a muscle relaxant pill, (a drug) after a session with Chris Milne in Hamilton, its called amitriptyline in conjunction with deep tissue massage from Ant at the Physiotherapy Clinic here in Rotorua. Huge thanks for the support over the last 6 months!

I have been doing a lot of running to keep fit instead as I have been getting frustrated with the riding.

So after being on Amitriptyline for two weeks I raced the N-duro as a test to find out if it was working. I was stoked to find out that both my legs felt the same, lack of training on the mountain bike was defiantly visible as I lasted about 40 mins until the body said, thats enough and shut down, making it a very long ride from there on in and sucking every little last bit from my Peak Fuel tube.

So thats the short version of what has been happening, I am planning on doing some kayaking and will enter Montys Multisport event over in Whakatane as my next event in two weeks.

Time to hit the bike again this week to kick start training in the NZ winter again.

Will let you know how Montys goes.

Moonride

The Moonride is done and dusted once again. This year I rode for Team AvantiPlus MTB. We finished second in Open.

This year was most likely the wettest 12 hour event I have ever done. It was mud galore but fun.

Hiskey done the first few laps setting us up for a nice 12 hours of racing in 3rd place but as the event went on and at times the rain came down we caught and passed a Palmerston North team and stayed there for the rest of the race. I went out and done my fastest lap soon after I finished a tube of peak fuel soon after half way.

I was riding my Scott Spark 20 which was great for the flat track we were on and I had a Kenda Slant Six up front which did prove interesting at times but cleared without any trouble and I had a Kenda Karma on the rear for great traction in the mud.

Heres the link for full results http://res.timingsports.com/List.asp?id=1613&race=12HR

Colville Connection

On Friday night I was picked up by to nice young men from Napier as we were heading to the top of Coromandel for a 72 km mountain bike race starting and finishing in Colville. We stayed in Coromandel with the rest of Team Avanti (Hiskey and JT) in a very nice bungalow.

The race started at 9am and I finished at 12:30, not my ideal race time... but a great race over all and I managed to sneak into the top 40 finishing 39th. I was riding my Spark 20 and loved it on the farm decent's and some of the corrugated roads. I had two peak full gels berry flavor that helped me big time, out near the end.

At the moment I am dealing with a bung leg and have seen a specialist but we are yet to confirm what it is. I am getting an ultra scan done on a main artery to my legs as well as other testing at the start of April.

I will keep you all updated in how that goes but for now I am going to take a small step down from racing and just enjoy riding and get stuck into my studies for semester one.

Karapoti Classic

Yeap another Karapoti Classic done for the year, I don't ways look forward to this event as it is a bike wrecker, however my Scott Spark 20 held up fine and the extra travel was excellent for this marathon type event.

I still will not forget how step and long some of those climbs are, even using my small chain ring on them with the lack of force my legs can put out at the top end it defiantly made my life more pleasant.

How ever I am going to see a specialist to find out what is wrong with my leg and hopefully come home with an explanation that I will let you know about.

I finished the Poti Classic in three hours and 8 minutes, a bit different to what I normal would expect but did enjoy finishing with a dip in the river with cramp on the side.

Kenda Karma's were my choice of tyre and I was using them tubeless, although I had a slow leak which I kept feeding C02 near the end I had no trouble and they held on to the gravel roads perfect as well as giving me ampule traction on the climbs.

Thanks to the team members that roll up and a good weekend away.

Bung leg

I have had to pull the pin for natinal champs due to an unconfirmed condtion with one of my legs.

More detail to follow after I have seen a specialist.

NZ Cup Round Three Nelson

Nelson always puts up a great race track and a great race atmosphere for us.

The track was hard, fast and challenging for me I did enjoy riding around getting lines and doing efforts etc on the track.

The race was fast and I didn't have a chance, not too sure what was happening but everyone went around me and from here I started to make my way back up the field picking riders off each lap. We done 6 laps and I finished 17th.

So not the race of my life, I am now focusing on the fourth round of the NZ cup here in Christchurch and then National Champs in Dunedin next saturday.

Huge thanks to Bruce and Sarah in Nelson for the wonderful accommodation.

This weekend I was racing my Scott Spark 20 rolling nicely on my Kenda Small Block eights and I was fueled by Peak Fuel.

N-Duro Summer Series Race Two

Todays race was great, I really enjoyed the whole race from the start to the end. Marcus plus team had planned a killer course that featured all aspects of a good mountain bike course with sufficient climbing and majority single track, this was my kinda race track.

There was a bit of congestion at the start that I managed to keep clear of and found myself in a good position to start with and had the form to keep up in the top five most of the race.

I was being kept very honest by John Grey and Des Curry that were just behind me when I was sitting in fifth place going up a main climb, I managed to shake these guys off as soon as I hit the flatter single tracks, where I was leaving nothing out on the track and keep the pace on hoping to catch a few others in front.

Over all another great event ran buy the N-Duro crew. I finished 4th place behind, Dirk Peters, Carl Jones and Sam Shaw.

Training is starting to pay off and things are settling in just nicely with 20 days until Nationals.

Today I was out riding my Scott Spark 20 loving the down and flatter tracks, keeping things rolling very smooth. These dry conditions were perfect for my Kenda small block eights that I was running tubeless. Peak fuel Gels kept me alert and on the rivet nearing the end of the race.

NZ Cup Round two Napier

Round to of the NZ Cup in hot hot Napier was a good weekend away with a few mates. I liked the track and it was bone dry and bound to be a fast race.

I felt good riding around on practice day and was feeling confident, However as soon as the race started this went very bad I seem to have no go and really suffered. Making it not such a good day in the saddle for me finishing 11th. This was a UCI round so it had some meaning to me if I decide to go overseas.

Working a few things out in the next few weeks and will be expecting a good result down in Nelson (another UCI round) and Dunedin (nats)

Thanks to Peak fuel and Avanti Plus.

N-duro Summer Series Race One

The first mountain bike race for the season and it felt great to finish this race in one piece.

Todays race was a 45km one loop course spreading over some of the best trails that Rotorua has to offer, the pace was hot from the gun with Dirk Peters leading the field, I was sitting in 3rd right behind Carl Jones and 10m off Dirk. We caught Dirk at the base of the first hill and the KOM (King of the Mountain) of the race, I was third over the hill slightly behind Carl and Dirk took it out.

(KOM is a new thing to hit the N-duro series and mountain biking on a whole it mixes the event up and gives some people that can't race for as long but still have a chance up a short hill to get some sort of result)

Shortly after the KOM I took a slight detour losing 10 or so places that I was trying to make back up over the rest of the course only making it to 8th. I do have to admit I wasn't feeling the best at all today and put it down to my first mountain bike race since the Huka in November, lets hope next weekends NZ cup in Napier is a different story.

Today I was using Berry Blast Peak Fuel gel and hydration mix thanks to AvantiPlus.

Nice work to Marcus and the N-Duro team another great event.

Tour de Vineyards, Nelson

Happy new year to all, It was a hard start to my new year with Tour De Vineyards. Overall I had a tough tour finding it harder than last year. I did enjoy it though, I love hanging up the mountain bike and dusting off the road bike for some hard racing now and then and Tour de Vineyards is an outstanding event to kick off our summer Mountain bike season.

Our mission started on boxing day, Thanks to Waiariki for the van and ferry. We also had the helping hand from Sam as our manager/masseuses. The girls tour started on the 28th December and we started on the 1st January.

This is how my tour unfolded.

Stage one- 60km circuit race around "Hope circuit", I held in the bunch working on the front near the end, After this stage I was still feeling good and ready for the next day.

Stage two- 130km with Hill top finish on Takaka, by the time we got to the base of Takaka (16km climb) I was already pretty blown, the effects from yesterday where showing presences and I fell far back in the field by the finish. Ending up 64th ish.

Stage three- 120km stage race. feeling pretty gadded by now I held in there for 90km before a big group of us getting dropped on the 2nd King of the mountain seeing us to the finish.

Stage four- 50km "Hill street" circuit. The pace was on from the word go and I was hanging in there until around 5 laps to go. From here I started swinging off the back being dropped several times and getting back on only to get dropped again but on 3 laps to go I just couldn't get back on and the bunch drifted away from me and that was my Tour over.

Good tour once again and though out the tour I was using Peak fuel gels, bars and hydration drink mix, thanks to AvantiPlus.